Essays
Inner grown-up: Avoid mayhem by listening to it“Die, you bastard, die.” My father was moaning on the other side of the bathroom door, as my mother listened out in the hallway. He’d made himself sick with a few too many Tom Collins cocktails and...read more Feb 21st, 2012
Juror 206: A sad tale of two Charlottesville casesBy Jennifer Niesslein At the Charlottesville Circuit courtroom, the jury box faces outward toward the audience. I sat in that jury box on the afternoon of February 7 as a potential juror for the...read more Feb 12th, 2012
Abe in Va.: Quiet rides and sad sojourn deserve noteAbout 20 years ago, I saw an illustration of Abraham Lincoln entering Richmond, the familiar Jefferson-designed Capitol building looming in the background. I figured the drawing was Union propaganda...read more Feb 4th, 2012
Fading faith: The unreported story of our timeBy JAMES A. HAUGHT The sea of faithWas once, too, at the full, and round Earth's shoreLay like the folds of a bright girdle furledBut now I only hearIts melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,Retreating...read more Jan 29th, 2012
Dumb and dumber: Silly stuff that's supposed to be greenWith the recent Detroit Automotive Show focusing on electrics and the Sierra Club having an electric car columnist, America continues to believe technology will save us. Let's see how that's working...read more Jan 22nd, 2012
Online specs: How I reframed the discussion“Why would you want to line the pockets of the Chinese or whoever, when you can buy your glasses from an optician right here in Charlottesville? Tell me you won’t buy your glasses over the Internet.”...read more Jan 17th, 2012
Rich and powerful: Why won't they save themselves?I spent a recent week at Occupy Miami and Occupy Fort Lauderdale. One question came up several times: What if the system responds– or pretends to respond– to our demands? What if the...read more Jan 7th, 2012
A remembrance: Alicia Bowler LugoMy daughter was 11 when she told me, “I want to meet Alicia.” I had talked about my boss, but I guess I never realized how much, until my young Margaret wanted to meet her based on my larger-than-...read more Jan 2nd, 2012
My minute with HitchI got word this morning, December 16, that the most iconoclastic journalist of his time, Christopher Hitchens, died yesterday. I thought you might like to hear of my one interaction with him. It was...read more Dec 16th, 2011
Starts with you: How to get your democracy backI’m no genius; anyone who knows me will confirm that. If you asked me to explain why our economy has been shot to hell over the past few years, I’d be hard-pressed to explain what happened. I know it...read more Dec 14th, 2011
Great people? Steve Jobs, the Occupy movement, and usby Bill GundersonSteve Jobs was a Great Man. Not always a Nice Guy. That is the secret the Occupy Wall Street crowd does not know.Apparently, the greatest industrialist in American history would yell...read more Dec 1st, 2011
Accidental plagiarism: It has a long prominent historyNow that the Cavalier Daily’s Honor Code issues have passed, let’s remember that privacy, plagiarism, and free speech are often in conflict in any real world, not just on the Internet or in a college...read more Nov 9th, 2011
Happy endings: Throwing off the bad boy-- KindleI’m a little embarrassed. Not so long ago (Has it been two years? Seriously?) I spouted off in this public forum about my love– well, let’s call it infatuation– for you, my Kindle e-...read more Nov 3rd, 2011
Power check: The vanishing jury trial in VirginiaMany people think trial by jury is a bedrock of American government, but according to statistics from the Virginia judicial system, fewer than two percent of our state's criminal cases are now...read more Oct 27th, 2011
ABC...F: What's wrong with state alcohol lawsBy Don Harrison "The ABCs of Virginia Alcohol Law” packs an awful lot of absurdity into its five-minute running time. The award-winning short-form documentary, made by filmmakers Austin Bragg and...read more Oct 20th, 2011
Steve's magic: The irony behind Apple's successBy Andrew Potter The internet chatterbots still weren't finished complaining about the underwhelming iPhone 4S Apple's first major product launch under new CEO Tim Cook when it was announced that...read more Oct 6th, 2011
How many? Numbers suggest a low terror deathcountHow many Americans have been killed in terrorist attacks inside the United States since the September 11, 2001, atrocities? Arguably 16. Egyptian Hesham Mohamed Hadayet killed two Israelis at the...read more Oct 6th, 2011
Like Halprin: Passonneau had a vision for CharlottesvilleJoseph Passonneau, a renowned American architect-engineer, died in Washington, D.C. in late August at the age of 90. Among his accomplishments was his design of I-70 through Glenwood Canyon in...read more Sep 29th, 2011
After Ike: Can Charlottesville love both peace and war?If I told you I would support women's rights as long as I didn't have to oppose rape, you’d think I needed lessons in both logic and basic human decency. If I said I would favor freedom as long as I...read more Sep 7th, 2011
Socialism: Relax, it could be coming to your living roomSo you’ve got a solid grip on your middle-class status, right? You have a decent job, you take care of yourself, and you don’t need no stinkin’ handout from the government. Handouts count as...read more Aug 31st, 2011